Grace Through Suffering

 

     There is something beautiful in Christianity that comes through suffering. As a leader of one-on-one crisis ministry for many years, I came to discover that most the the men and women putting in the time to train and minister to others had suffered through some difficult times of their own.

     God does that. He loves us through and leads us out of our times of deep loss, our most difficult trials, our times of losing hope. He sees us through.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2

     Often, Jesus works in our hearts even before we know Him through our suffering. This is certainly true of me. After being diagnosed with an eye disease and losing my mom the day after my wedding, I cried out to a God I did not know.

     From that moment on, He has been leading me through each day, sometimes in ways I could never have imagined. The beautiful pattern of my life is filled with tears, with loss and with blessing after blessing. I have witnessed the truth of how God works time and time again

     Every single one of the many men and women I trained to become Stephen ministers had suffered and had been brought closer to Jesus. And they wanted to share. They were passionate about it and went through 50 hours of in-depth training to confidentially meet with others in crisis.

     God plays it forward through us. He uses our gifts to bless others in ways that are beautiful and profound. How will He use you? Let His comfort wash over you as you reach out to others.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Dear Father of all comfort and compassion,

We praise You for Jesus and for the ways He uses us through all we have received. Show us how.

In Jesus name,

Amen